Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup

A few years ago, there was a little restaurant right on Rte. 23 in Lewis Center called Nacho Mama’s that had the best chicken tortilla soup I’d ever tasted. But, the Boyer restaurant curse (in which any restaurant we fall in love with closes months later) kicked in, and they ended up going out of business quite a few years ago. Not wanting to lose access to that spectacular dish, I came up with a copycat version, which I’ve improved upon over the years. In its soup-only state, it’s a very healthy dish, but the health factor decreases exponentially with the amount of high fat (cheese, sour cream, tortilla strips) garnish you use.

I posted the recipe at Recipezaar quite a while ago, the only changes I’ve made since then is that I use Penzey’s Chili con Carne seasoning (which is a mix of cumin/chili powder and other spices) rather than just chili powder and cumin, and in the latest batch, I threw in a bag of Trader Joe’s frozen roasted corn rather than adding a can of corn. Also, I’ve taken to adding a can of tomato sauce to the broth mix as well before throwing it in the crock pot. Keep in mind that the seasoning will intensify as it cooks, so don’t overseason. And you can get the thin tortilla strips (they come in an orange paper bag) at Kroger, or you can make your own with corn tortillas and a deep fryer, or if all else fails, you can use any corn tortilla chips/strips you want. Enjoy!